Over 2 lakh 'Jan Dhan' accounts opened in Indore

Over 2.08 lakh bank accounts, mostly of poor people, have been opened in Indore district in the past fortnight, as part of the Central government's flagship Jan Dhan Scheme, which aims at opening bank accounts of every household in the country.

The scheme has been launched simultaneously throughout the country. In Delhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the scheme. The PM, in his address, asked all the stakeholders to ensure that the project announced on August 15 is completed before January 26, 2015.

Speaking at a function held at Ravindra Natya Griha here, Lok Sabha Speaker and Indore MP Sumitra Mahajan said the scheme would empower women.

"Most women who do not have bank accounts are forced to hide their money from their husbands, many of whom snatch it from them. Now, women will be able to put the money in the bank," Mahajan said and added that this would also increase the self-respect of the poor as they would also be given a debit card.

Divisional commissioner Sanjay Dubey and collector Akash Tripathi informed people about the scheme and said it would increase transparency and reduce corruption as benefits of government schemes would be directly transferred to bank accounts. Mayor Krishnamurari Moghe and district panchayat president Om Prakash Parsavadia also spoke on the occasion.